RIGHTS-INDIA:Law to Restrict Foreign Funding Alarms NGOs
    on 02/09/2010 15.29.48 GMT
Ranjit Devraj NEW DELHI, Sep 2 (IPS) - Voluntary and charitable organisations in India are aghast at a new law to restrict foreign contributions, that was passed by both Houses of Parliament recently.... (continue)

INDIA:Kashmiri Youngsters Wage Online Struggle
    on 02/09/2010 15.06.18 GMT
Athar Parvaiz - Asia Media Forum*... (continue)

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN:Mob Brutality Raises Painful Questions
    on 02/09/2010 14.55.20 GMT
Zofeen Ebrahim KARACHI, Pakistan, Aug 30 (IPS) - A breakdown in Pakistans justice system, a sign of a society desensitised to violence, an example of mob brutality.... (continue)

SPAIN:Puppet Marathon for Building School in Bolivia
    on 02/09/2010 14.54.42 GMT
Tito Drago MADRID, Aug 28 (IPS) - The 17th Titirilandia (Puppetland) Festival will conclude with a marathon puppet show, to be held Sunday Aug. 29 in Spain's capital city in aid of a school in the remote Bolivian mining province of Potosm.... (continue)

HEALTH-INDIA:Infant Deaths Cast Doubt on Vaccination Policy
    on 02/09/2010 12.55.38 GMT
Ranjit Devraj NEW DELHI, Aug 27 (IPS) - The deaths of four infants during a recent vaccination drive in Lucknow, capital of northern Uttar Pradesh state, has raised questions about the Indian government's plan to introduce five-in-one vaccines in a countrywide immunisation programme.... (continue)

INDIA:Activists Use Legal Weapons to Stop Thermal Power Plants
    on 02/09/2010 12.54.16 GMT
Pankaj Sekhsaria HYDERABAD, India, Aug 27 (IPS) - Green activists have various ways of pushing their causes, from enlisting movie stars to launching protests, but India's campaigners have also been quietly using legal weapons to try to get the projects they oppose, such as thermal plants, stopped or reversed.... (continue)

CULTURE-CHINA:Now Showing û Independent Films
    on 02/09/2010 12.52.36 GMT
Mitch Moxley BEIJING, Aug 27 (IPS) - While Hollywood blockbusters and state-funded historical epics continue to dominate China's box office, a vibrant independent film scene is quietly growing.... (continue)

Climate-related Security Predictions Coming True in Pakistan
    on 02/09/2010 12.47.56 GMT
Matthew O. Berger WASHINGTON, Aug 26 (IPS) - Analysts have been warning for several years that the impacts of climate change directly relate to the national security of the U.S. and other countries, but the link has never been so clear as it is today in northwest Pakistan.... (continue)

INDIA:Four Years On, Debate Rages On Forest Rights Law
    on 26/08/2010 12.41.04 GMT
Keya Acharya BANGALORE, Aug 26 (IPS) - It was supposed to help right old wrongs as well as protect India's forests, but four years after it took effect, a landmark law recognising the forest rights of scheduled tribes remains the subject of acrimonious debates among the country's government officials, environmentalists, and rights advocates.... (continue)

Women Pulling Out of the Technological Gap
    on 25/08/2010 21.21.38 GMT
Emilio Godoy MEXICO CITY, Aug 25 (IPS) - When she gets up in the morning, Ghadeer Malek, a young Palestinian feminist activist, checks her Facebook page to keep up on new developments and messages linked to her work.... (continue)

ENVIRONMENT-INDIA:Green Activists Gain Ground with Successive Victories
   Analysis by Ranjit Devraj on 25/08/2010 16.39.20 GMT
NEW DELHI, Aug 25 (IPS) - Green activists in India have chalked up a series of successes recently and feel heartened that the central government is heeding their call. A number of mega projects which would have displaced vulnerable communities or caused damage to the environment were recently scrapped by the government.... (continue)

MEXICO:The Voice of the Community Faces Numerous Threats
    on 25/08/2010 16.08.52 GMT
Emilio Godoy MEXICO CITY, Aug 25 (IPS) - The Jenpoj ("winds of fire) community radio station in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, which plays an important role in keeping the Mixe indigenous community informed, has had its equipment confiscated and has fought and won a court case to get a broadcast license.... (continue)

WORLD:Fair Trade Is Growing But Africans Lag Behind
    on 24/08/2010 21.47.08 GMT
Hilaire Avril PARIS, Aug 24 (IPS) - Despite its minuscule share of world trade, fair trade is a booming business, importing certified foodstuffs and products from all over the world to Northern supermarkets. But there is increasing concern that this growth is yet to benefit poor countries in Africa.... (continue)

INDIA:Cotton Farmers Reap Hope from New Techniques
    on 24/08/2010 05.57.52 GMT
Nitin Jugran Bahuguna... (continue)

Q&A:"Democracy Deficit Is the Biggest Obstacle to Development"
    on 23/08/2010 20.53.34 GMT
Beatrice Paez interviews INGRID SRINATH, Secretary-General of CIVICUS... (continue)

Death of Smallpox Holds Clues to Stop Viral Killers
    on 23/08/2010 18.03.16 GMT
Matthew O. Berger WASHINGTON, Aug 23 (IPS) - The stories of Dr. Ciro de Quadros' work in eradicating smallpox read like the stuff of global health legend.... (continue)

Brazil Aims for World's "Most Perfect" Population Census
    on 23/08/2010 16.39.32 GMT
Thalif Deen RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 23 (IPS) - Come Dec. 31, about 68 countries are expected to complete the arduous task of taking an accurate head count of the number of people living within their geographical borders.... (continue)

PAKISTAN:Schools Cross Extremism Out Of Textbooks
    on 23/08/2010 11.51.00 GMT
Ashfaq Yusufzai PESHAWAR, Aug 23 (IPS) - Turn schools into hate-free zones, and achieving peace in violence-wracked Pakistan may not be far behind.... (continue)

DEVELOPMENT-PAKISTAN:Flood Aid Exposes Distrust of Gov't
    on 23/08/2010 11.41.50 GMT
Zofeen Ebrahim KARACHI, Pakistan, Aug 20 (IPS) - Inundated by appeals through text messages, email and Twitter, as well as in print and broadcast media, that call for donations of dried rations, hygiene kits, buckets, tubs and cooking pots, and straw mats, Ambreen Siddiqui feels lost in trying to help her fellow Pakistanis in the midst of the country's worst floods in decades.... (continue)

HEALTH-INDIA:Superbug Boosts Hopes of Rational Drug Use
    on 20/08/2010 09.37.56 GMT
Ranjit Devraj NEW DELHI, Aug 20 (IPS) - Howls of protest from doctors and officials in India have followed the naming of the New Delhi Metallo-1 (NDM-1), a gene that can transform infectious bacteria into superbugs that are resistant to the most powerful antibiotics. But other experts hope that the furore on this issue may lead to a rethink on the widespread practice of using medicines indiscriminately.... (continue)

POLITICS-INDIA:In Kashmir, Tensions Put Life on Hold
    on 19/08/2010 04.19.24 GMT
Athar Parvaiz SRINAGAR, India, Aug 19 (IPS) - The doctors at the hospital that Khalida Begum's husband brought her to in the frontier district of Kupwara knew she was in a dangerous state. They thus recommended that she be transferred soonest to the maternity hospital here in Srinagar, where she was sure to receive far better care.... (continue)

INDIA:Moving On to a 'Backward' Step
   Analysis by Ranjit Devraj on 18/08/2010 07.21.08 GMT
NEW DELHI, Aug 18 (IPS) - Strident voices are rising against the Indian coalition government's move to identify people by their caste background in the ongoing census.... (continue)

RIGHTS-INDIA:Despite Laws and Campaigns, Child Marriages Persist
    on 17/08/2010 06.45.26 GMT
K S Harikrishnan TAMIL NADU, India, Aug 17 (IPS) - Soon after she had her second child, Rathna fell into a frenzied state and had to be brought to a hospital here in the southern Indian village of Dharmapuri. After a month-long series of tests, doctors issued their diagnosis: Rathna, they said, was suffering from a psychiatric aberration that seems to occur often among adolescent mothers.... (continue)

Funding Lags to Aid Pakistan's Millions of Displaced
    on 17/08/2010 00.16.50 GMT
Megan Iacobini de Fazio... (continue)

U.N. Decade Hopes to Push Back Encroaching Deserts
    on 16/08/2010 16.03.18 GMT
Megan Iacobini de Fazio... (continue)

ENVIRONMENT:Climate Change Debate Rises with Pakistan Floods
    on 16/08/2010 14.24.08 GMT
Zofeen Ebrahim KARACHI, Pakistan, Aug 16 (IPS) - "If this is not God's wrath, what is?" 40-year-old taxi driver Bakht Zada said of the massive floods in Pakistan that have swept away his life earnings.... (continue)

HEALTH-INDIA:Infant Units Go A Long Way in Saving Babies
    on 14/08/2010 06.22.42 GMT
Manipadma Jena BHUBANESWAR, India, Aug 14 (IPS) - Banita's heart sank when she first saw her prematurely born twin girls. One weighed 500 grammes and the other 700 grammes, both way below the 2.5-kilogramme benchmark for low-birthweight newborns. But their clenched, coin-sized fists seemed to show they were clinging to life. "There is hope," said the local doctor.... (continue)

Beleaguered U.N. Chief Under Political Microscope
    on 13/08/2010 16.38.36 GMT
Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Aug 13 (IPS) - In South Korea, Ban Ki-moon is a prestigious brand name - like Samsung, Kia, LG and Hyundai.... (continue)

TRADE-NEPAL:Carpet Industry Frayed at the Edges
    on 13/08/2010 08.30.38 GMT
Bhuwan Sharma KATHMANDU, Aug 13 (IPS) - It was an industry pioneer and had even proved itself successful in the export market. But these days Jawalakhel Handicraft Centre (JHC) is barely able to sustain itself on retail sales, and general manager Chimi Dorjee has been reduced to just recalling how things had been when the going was still good.... (continue)

PAKISTAN:Endangered Snow Leopard Clawing Its Way Back
    on 12/08/2010 10.01.56 GMT
Zofeen Ebrahim KARACHI, Pakistan, Aug 12 (IPS) - For more than 10 years, Shafqat Hussain has been on the trail of the endangered snow leopard. He has heard the beast's growl, and has seen its pugmarks against a snowy track. But his dream, of coming eye-to-eye with the elusive nocturnal feline, remains unfulfilled. "If you've seen the cat, you've seen the Holy Grail," says Hussain.... (continue)

Russia's Agony a "Wake-Up Call" to the World
    on 11/08/2010 15.50.20 GMT
Stephen Leahy VIENNA, Aug 11 (IPS) - A wind turbine on an acre of northern Iowa farmland could generate 300,000 dollars worth of greenhouse-gas-free electricity a year. Instead, the U.S. government pays out billions of dollars to subsidise grain for ethanol fuel that has little if any impact on global warming, according to Lester Brown.... (continue)

INDIA:End to Fuel Subsidies Brings Damaging Diversions
   Analysis by Ranjit Devraj on 09/08/2010 10.07.56 GMT
NEW DELHI, Aug 9 (IPS) - While India's opposition parties are agitating against moves by the pro-reform government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to remove subsidies on petrol and other fuels, experts say the country has laboured too long under price distortions that have not benefited poorer people -- or the environment.... (continue)

WORLD:Cooking Up a Climate Deal
   Analysis by Laure Pichegru and Terna Gyuse* on 08/08/2010 13.18.00 GMT
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 8 (IPS) - Another round of negotiations towards a global treaty on climate change concluded in Bonn on Aug. 6, with activists calling on parties to rediscover a spirit of compromise and make offers rather than demands.... (continue)

Chile to Straddle Line Between Rich and Poor Nations
    on 06/08/2010 18.15.36 GMT
Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Aug 6 (IPS) - The 130 developing countries at the United Nations remain divided over Chile's decision to hold onto its seat in the Group of 77 (G77) - even after it formally joined the exclusive club of rich nations, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).... (continue)

LEBANON:Racism Legitimised by Law
    on 06/08/2010 16.40.08 GMT
Mona Alami BEIRUT, Aug 6 (IPS) - Lebanon has a reputation for openness because of the relative freedom enjoyed by women in comparison to other Middle Eastern countries. But many women face rampant discrimination.... (continue)

CLIMATE CHANGE:Cancun May Deliver Little
    on 06/08/2010 16.35.44 GMT
Julio Godoy BONN, Aug 6 (IPS) - Little hope has emerged from a meeting here of any binding international regulations to reduce greenhouse gases at the next UN conference on climate change scheduled for November and December in Cancun, Mexico.... (continue)

INDIA:Trade Talks with EU Put Drug Manufacturers on Edge
    on 03/08/2010 08.55.12 GMT
Keya Acharya NEW DELHI, Aug 3 (IPS) - Their ongoing negotiations remain shrouded in secrecy, but there are already reports that India and the European Union (EU) will have a free-trade agreement ready by the end of August, and that they will be putting signatures to it before the end of 2010.... (continue)

POLITICS-INDIA:Kashmir Cauldron Boils Again
   Analysis by Sujoy Dhar on 02/08/2010 07.27.54 GMT
NEW DELHI, Aug 2 (IPS) - The sight of armoured vehicles and soldiers in battle gear out in Kashmir's streets in July is a grim warning of a storm gathering yet again over the restive valley.... (continue)

Pakistan Poll Finds Widespread Disillusionment
    on 30/07/2010 07.28.18 GMT
Eli Clifton* WASHINGTON, Jul 29 (IPS) - The recent Wikileaks dump of war-related documents has brought little new to the debate over Washington's ongoing military involvement in Afghanistan, but allegations that Pakistan's intelligence services are aiding the Taliban has brought renewed attention to U.S. concerns over its reliance on Islamabad in battling Taliban and al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan.... (continue)

Hopes Fade for Languishing U.S. Climate Bill
    on 27/07/2010 00.40.18 GMT
Eli Clifton WASHINGTON, Jul 26 (IPS) - The Barack Obama administration has found success in passing healthcare reform and legislation touted as an "overhaul" of the U.S. financial system, but last week it became clear that the Democrats wouldn't advance a climate change bill until after the August recess and, more likely, until next year.... (continue)

Worse Than HIV, the Stigma
    on 23/07/2010 16.42.40 GMT
Mehru Jaffer VIENNA, Jul 23 (IPS) - Kiren Kaur, 37, has come to terms with HIV she contracted from her husband in 1997. The HIV positive status, per se, is not difficult to deal with. But dealing with the stigma that comes with it is an excruciating experience.... (continue)

LATIN AMERICA:Spain's Renewable Energy Heads West
    on 22/07/2010 19.46.18 GMT
Clarinha Glock* - Tierramérica... (continue)

HEALTH:Intellectual Property Rights Remain A Barrier to Drugs
    on 20/07/2010 14.36.58 GMT
Isolda Agazzi GENEVA, Jul 20 (IPS) - Intellectual property (IP) rights are a key reason for high medicine prices, rendering such medicines unaffordable and therefore out of reach for poor people. While mechanisms exist to circumvent IP, poor countries have been browbeaten into adopting stringent IP laws.... (continue)

Women Vital in Global Fight Against AIDS
    on 20/07/2010 11.15.00 GMT
Mehru Jaffer VIENNA, Jul 20 (IPS) - Empowering women could more effectively help in curbing the spread of HIV, Bill Gates, Microsoft chairman and philanthropist said at the AIDS conference here Monday.... (continue)

MEDIA-PHILIPPINES:Citizen Journalism Gets Public Involved
    on 20/07/2010 10.40.16 GMT
Kara Santos - Asia Media Forum*... (continue)

No Sign of Financial Regulation
   Analysis by Julio Godoy on 20/07/2010 09.47.44 GMT
BERLIN, Jul 20 (IPS) - More than three years after the start of the financial crisis that brought the world economy to the brink of collapse, the governments of industrialised countries are still struggling to reach a consensus on the minimum regulation required for the operations of international banks and hedge funds.... (continue)

HEALTH:East African Laws Confuse Fake and Generic Drugs - WHO
    on 19/07/2010 14.15.18 GMT
Isolda Agazzi GENEVA, Jul 19 (IPS) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) agrees that the anti-counterfeit legislation that has been adopted or that is under consideration in East Africa threatens the accessibility of affordable generic medicines.... (continue)

INDIA:Amid Renewed Violence, Kashmir Journalists Become the News
    on 19/07/2010 10.55.06 GMT
Athar Parvaiz û Asia Media Forum*... (continue)

PAKISTAN:Swat Valley's Festival Speaks Up for Peace
    on 16/07/2010 10.35.28 GMT
Ashfaq Yusufzai PESHAWAR, Jul 16 (IPS) - The threats against officials and ordinary people alike have not stopped, with yet another suicide bomber sowing terror in the district's main town just on Jul. 15.... (continue)